Employers add thousands of workers in Nevada last month
April was a good month for Nevada as thousands of workers, especially in casinos and restaurants, returned to the labor workforce.
Employers in Nevada added 17,100 unadjusted jobs in April, the largest month-to-month gain since September 2020, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said Thursday. Most of the jobs — 8,400 seasonally adjusted jobs — were added in Southern Nevada.
Seasonally adjusted estimates are used to show underlying economic trends by accounting for regularly seen seasonal patterns, and the result is smoother estimates. This is done by taking the difference of the unadjusted estimate and the expected seasonal movement.
Seasonally adjusted data is useful in month-to-month comparisons, whereas non-seasonally adjusted data is usually used in year-to-year comparisons of the same month.
Nevada’s jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 8 percent in April. It’s still higher than the U.S. unemployment rate, which ticked up to 6.1 percent in April from 6 percent a month earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor said earlier this month.
“This time last year, Nevada was in the early stages of the largest business shutdown in the state’s history,” said David Schmidt, the state’s chief economist, in a news release Thursday.
‘Path to recovery’
The state’s unemployment rate, Schmidt said, was near 30 percent with more than 400,000 Nevadans out of work around this time a year ago, adding that the new figures for April show that the state remains “on the path to recovery.”
“Nevada added 17,100 unadjusted jobs over the month in April, the biggest month-to-month jump since September of last year and roughly double the typical March-April change,” added Schmidt.
And as Nevada edges closer to a full reopening June 1, jobless filers in May were required to look for work as part of their unemployment benefits — with claimants now having to keep records that they are submitting job applications, updating their resume, networking or enrolling in job training. Gov. Steve Sisolak had dropped the job-search requirement last year at the onset of the pandemic. Employers across key sectors in Southern Nevada have had trouble finding workers in recent months.
DETR said job gains last month in Nevada were realized in key sectors, led by accommodation and food services in the Las Vegas area as restaurants and casino-resorts ramped up hiring and COVID-19 restrictions were eased.
Largest job gains in leisure and hospitality
Looking at unadjusted estimates for Nevada as a whole, DETR said the leisure and hospitality sector added the most jobs in April with over 80 percent of gains in accommodation and food services, most of which were in food services and drinking places in Las Vegas.
Employers also added jobs in the arts, entertainment and recreation sub-sectors in places such as racetracks, golf courses, bowling centers and water parks.
The construction industry is also seeing job gains as businesses try to meet the demand of a strong housing market, Schmidt said.
Manufacturing employment in Las Vegas “realized notable growth” in April as cut stone and stone product manufacturing companies increased staff. DETR said it is likely because of the high demand for landscaping work at residential and commercial properties.
Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.
